NJ Transit seeks public input on resuming West Trenton Line rail service

Montgomery station under consideration

By Katie Wagner, Staff Writer
   NJ Transit is seeking public comments on a proposal to restore passenger rail service on the West Trenton Line that would run through Mercer and Somerset counties.
   The proposed 27-mile service would link the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) West Trenton Station in Ewing to NJ Transit’s Raritan Valley Line in Bridgewater, with service on the Raritan Valley Line to continue to Newark Penn Station. The West Trenton Line last operated in 1982.
   Members of the public will have opportunities to voice their opinions about the project at public meetings on Thursday and Dec. 6.
    “Local and county officials have expressed interest in restoration of passenger-rail service along that corridor for some time, especially as residential growth in the region has added congestion to the roadways,” said Joe Dee, a NJ Transit spokesman.Among the list of items included in the proposed project are stations in Ewing, Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough, Montgomery and Hillsborough. The project also calls for re-installation of previously removed track within the existing rail right-of-way to provide dual tracks over 12.8 miles, signal improvements, restoration of the at-grade crossing of the Lehigh Line at Port Reading Junction and the track connection to the Raritan Valley Line in Bridgewater Township and a train storage yard.
   The estimated cost of the project is $219 million. The state currently does not have funding for construction, according to NJ Transit.
   ”Funding will be needed from a combination of sources. Such projects typically rely on federal or state funding,” Mr. Dee said. “These upcoming meetings give members of the public the opportunity to express their level of interest in the proposals. The project would be competing against others in the state for limited funding.”
   The public meeting Thursday will be held at the Hillsborough Township Municipal Complex at 379 South Branch Road and the Dec. 6 public meeting will be held at the Ewing community-senior center at 999 Lower Ferry Road. Both meetings are scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m.
    Comments on the draft environmental assessment will be accepted at the meetings and until Jan. 15 by mail, sent to Thomas Clark, Office of Government and Community Relations, NJ TRANSIT, One Penn Plaza East, Newark, NJ 07105-2245 or by e-mail at [email protected].